The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

If three birds are sitting on a wire, and two decide to fly away, how many are left?

If you haven’t heard this riddle, you might answer “one. “ But the answer is that three birds are left on the wire. The two birds only decided to fly away, and deciding is not the same as actually doing.

Moving from deciding to doing is a common challenge in new business development. How many times in our sales career have we decided to do something but stayed sitting on that wire?

We’ve established short and long-term goals. We’ve even mapped out an action plan and a roadmap to follow that will lead to success. But we remain sitting on a wire. Our behaviors don’t change, and we don’t follow through with the plan.

Getting that first appointment with a new business prospect is rarely an easy task.

In fact, there is usually a direct correlation between how long it takes to get an appointment and the spending potential of a prospect. Simply put, quality prospects take more time! 

Because so many hours are spent persuading a prospect to meet, it makes sense to get the most out of the meeting. World-class salespeople use the first appointment to uncover business challenges that lead to cash, instead of wasting the opportunity pitching, pitching, pitching. 

After getting comfortable and socializing a bit with the prospect during the opening minutes of the call, try the following steps to get the most out of the opportunity:

A person needs many skills and qualities to be successful at business, including good organization, communication, leadership, and negation.

Business acumen is another necessary skill for those who are driven to succeed. But what is it? And how can you develop it?

Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about business acumen.

Regardless of the industry you work in; every company ultimately has the same goal: to increase revenue and grow business.

To set your organization up for long-term success, you need more than just a goal. You need a strategic plan, and that’s where target drives come in.

In this episode of Improving Sales Performance, Alina McComas, VP / Senior Consultant at The Center for Sales Strategy, shares her insight on implementing target drives that help improve revenue performance. Keep reading for a brief overview or tune in now.

At the beginning of a new year, it's tempting to set goals for the next 12 months. After all, you'll have your results from the prior year and can identify where you fell short and where you want your company to improve. 

However, try to resist the urge to create annual goals that are too detailed and contain too many action items. If you fall behind, it's hard to catch up. You can quickly lose momentum and focus on what you're trying to achieve.

Instead, quarterly goals make more sense when you're looking for action-driven results. At the end of each quarter, you can then set the appropriate goals for the next quarter. These can fit into some more general goals for the year but should also be aligned with the long-term strategy. 

Let's take a look at the steps to create a quarterly action plan, how to measure success, and how to plan for the following quarter.

Imagine one of your sales reps has an important sales call with one of their biggest sales lead yet. You've coached them, doubled-checked to make sure their equipment works and they know what they need to about the offer.

But they get on the call, and it doesn't go so well. The prospect sounds annoyed and hangs up before your rep can fully explain the product or service.

Don't let this happen to your sales team! Keep reading to learn how you can use questions to improve sales skills and increase sales.